We recently received seven sea turtles from the New England Aquarium Rehabilitation Department. Five of the turtles are Kemp’s Ridley, the smallest and one of the most endangered sea turtles. The other two sea turtles are green sea turtles, so named for the color of their fat and cartilage, not their external coloration. As juveniles this species is omnivorous eating both plants and invertebrates, however as adults they are herbivores and feed predominantly on sea grasses. The marine habitats in coastal Georgia do not have this food resource thus green turtles are only occasionally seen in our waters. These turtles are young and fairly small with a dinner plate sized shell. All 7 turtles were found stranded on the coast of Massachusetts. They were all “cold stunned,” a condition commonly seen this time of year in northeastern waters when the water temperature is below 50 degrees F. Treatment consists of slowly rewarming the turtles, approximately 5 degrees F per day. Many of the turtles develop secondary problems such as osteomyelitis, a type of bone infection, of the digits in their flippers. It is suspected that the digit lesions are similar to a “frost bite” like condition. Facilities in warmer climates are preferred so the turtles can be released sooner. They were initially treated at the New England Aquarium with fluids, antibiotics, antifungal drugs, wound care, etc The turtles were flown down by a volunteer pilot and transported to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for further care. After the initial physical exam, they were allowed to get accustomed to their new tanks. All seven turtles are eating well. We are hopeful that all the turtles will be released this spring when the water warms up in the ocean. Vida is a loggerhead sea turtle, weighing in at about 74 lbs. She was stranded on a beach in St. Augustine, Florida on December 19. Her skin and flippers were covered in algae, thus we suspect she was floating in the water. She was placed in shallow water after the initial work up to see how she reacted and to our delight she proved to be strong and was lifting her head to breath. She was placed in “dry dock” overnight, just to be cautious and the next day her barnacles were removed. Once she was clean she was placed into water and seemed very comfortable. She lifted her head easily and was even moving around. We offered her some food but she did not show much interest. Griffin is also a loggerhead sea turtle. He has a long tail so we know he is a mature male, probably around 30 to 35 years old. He is very lethargic and weak and is not eating on his own. When he first arrived he weighed only 156 lbs. The last time he was weighed his weight had increased by about 30 lbs!. The weight increase is due to two tube feeding procedures a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening he is offered 375ml of fish. He also is being offered fresh seafood and live crabs each day, but to date has shown no interest in eating. He is, however, more responsive and active than when he came in.

Tags: georgia coast, jekyll island, the georgia sea turtle center jekyll island

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Beachscape, February 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.